


Masks and Cloaks

by Sandentwins



Category: Owlboy (Video Game)
Genre: Discrimination, Gen, Headcanon, Owl Cloaks, Worldbuilding
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-09-30
Updated: 2018-09-30
Packaged: 2019-07-20 15:40:31
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 1
Words: 770
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/16140326
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Sandentwins/pseuds/Sandentwins
Summary: The tale of people whose only crime was to be born: a lesser-known part of owl history.





	Masks and Cloaks

**Author's Note:**

> Inspired by a [headcanon](http://creative-minds-never-die.tumblr.com/post/178322687720/crack-headcanon) on Tumblr.

Revered. Exalted. Wise.  
Such is what owls aspired to be.  
During the golden age of owl civilisation, these people imposed their dominion on all other creatures. They have evolved the power of flight, a power that allowed them to reach higher than anyone has ever been, and granted them control and might over anyone else. They have mastered the skies, and built their citadels high up where no other creature could reach; they ruled over the world, with no one else to defy them. And the lowly creatures, bound to earth and rooted in its miserable existence, worshipped the owls like gods.  
Such a world order led the owls to fully assume their role. From guides, they became leaders. From role models, they became ideals. From scholars and teachers, they became gatekeepers. And from their wisdom, their intelligence, pride and folly was born.  
Nothing could have prepared the owls for the events of the Hex. Over the course of one night, the land took to the sky, and the great civilisation was destroyed. They perished trying to repair the damage, for there was nothing they could do anymore. And at the end of that fateful night, all that remained were their ruins, their automatons.  
As well as the eggs they left behind.  
It was a common word across all people of the land that the owl civilisation, while wise and worshipped, had caused more chaos than good in the world. A horrifying number of people across the world have died in the rise of the continents, and many more lives have been ruined by its outcome. The owls now disappeared, people looked for a culprit, a scapegoat; and these few eggs that were still intact, gave birth to what would become the ones to blame.  
This generation of owls grew up without knowing of their heritage. Secluded and rejected for something they didn't understand, they took off to the higher continents, forming their own community. The hatred lasted for several generations, during which the world was slowly rebuilding itself; but when the world was ready to accept the owls again, it was already too late.  
Ashamed of their wings, the owl descendants began long rituals of binding them down, or clipping them on their young. Scared by their feathered faces, they upheld an ideal and rules, that no owl should dare to let themself seen with such hideousities in plain sight. They covered themselves up, plucked their feathers as soon as they grew. When humans took interest in their species again, mixed unions were heavily encouraged, so the children born from these would get closer to the self-imposed ideal of these new owls, whose only crime has been to look like their ancestors.  
It took a while to understand what was going on. When people discovered what the owl descendants had gone through, they realized that they still carried with them the grudges of their forefathers. Yet the world had changed, now: everyone needed everyone's help. Bearing grudges, seeking a culprit wouldn't help the world at all. Changing mindsets took a long time, especially for these owls who suffered their parents' abuse and expectations, and those who suffered heavy mutilations for the sake of conformity. But it eventually happened, and these people discovered just how much regret they could feel.  
The owls now looked nothing like owls. So much human blood had been introduced to their community, that they were but semblance of feathered humans now. When they rediscovered their society, the greatness of their ancestors, they tried their best to return to it, while making sure to not repeat their mistakes.  
They had lost their feathers and wings, but their technology was still above anything else. With care and skill, they crafted feathered masks, mimicking the heads of owls of so long ago. These could display emotions with a shocking accuracy, and with time they would become actual skin and skulls. With their magic and science, they weaved owl cloaks, that could fly just as well as wings. They were of tremendous strength, and ornamented richly. Past child age, it was inconceivable for an owl to live about without these carefully-crafted disguises.  
These masks and cloaks became sacred items, a message of hope for all future owls to be born. A symbol of their people, of their fight for recognition. The day would come where their natural wings would grow again, and they wouldn't need cloaks to take the skies once more. They would recover from this pain, the suffering of entire generations, and they would return to their glory.  
But until then, they would have to play pretend.


End file.
